


In the Wake of Adversity

by amethyst-noir (Arbonne)



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternative Timeline, Both of them, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Cloak of Levitation (Marvel), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fade to Black, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance, Temporary Character Death, Tony Stark and Magic, Touch-Starved, Vague descriptions of torture, as seen in Infinity War, but you can imagine where this is going, nothing worse, the plot and the action are in the first chapter, the second one is just pure romantic fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-06 02:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16379252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir
Summary: Tony and the Cloak are too late to save Stephen from Ebony Maw's torture. Now it falls to Tony and his new ghostly companion to correct a timeline gone horrible wrong and find a happy end for themselves.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Halloween. That means ghosts and horror, right? So, a ghost love story with a little bit of horror. Okay. I can do that. But autumn also means cold weather, romantic evenings and heartfelt confessions of love. So I needed one chapter for each and this is the result.
> 
> All my gratitude goes to [@merelypassingtime](https://merelypassingtime.tumblr.com/) who not only did an incredible beta on this story - and assured me that it works - but also saved it with one single, innocent comment even before it was even finished. Seriously, without it this story would be totally different and the end not nearly as nice as it is. Plus, there would be a lot more typos and other errors. (All that remain belong to me. But I'm willing to give them away for free.)
> 
> The title is, once again, taken from a song by Dead Can Dance.

Stephen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and prepared himself for the pain. It was an old friend after all and he'd grown used to it, sometimes even welcomed it.

But not this, this was pure torture. He screamed as the myriad of translucent needles pierced his body all over, one after another, just the tiniest pause between them. He could feel every one of them as they broke his skin, worked their way deeper and deeper until he could feel them in his veins, his muscles, his _bones_. And still the pain went further down, into his very soul.

Suddenly, his hands were the only part of him that didn't hurt. It was that fact that finally broke him and forced him to scream.

For an eternity there was nothing but the pain, sometimes broken by questions and demands he refused to answer. No help was coming and he could only hope that his body would give out soon. Release from life sounded heavenly and had the added bonus of locking the time stone away behind the almost unbreakable spells of a dead man.

With his death he could buy Stark and the other Avengers the time needed to defeat Thanos.

That was the plan. Of course, as all his plans tended to do, it went to hell quickly.

*

The alien crew of the ship, including captain Squidward, was dead and Tony was alone with a piece of red and apparently intelligent fabric that frantically gestured at him to find its owner. Tony could understand the impulse and with every dead-end they encountered his frustration grew while his anxiety rose to therefore unknown heights.

"I used to love space," he told his new companion when he just couldn't stand the silence any longer. "But now I just hate and fear it."

Of course, there was no answer, but the thing patted him on the arm as if to console him. It was kind of charming, in its own way.

It was the screams that finally gave the wizard's position away. Tony flinched when he heard the first one and the cape seemed to shrink down, as if also in pain. Tony gave it a sympathetic look. "I know," he whispered. "We'll get him out, promise." The silence had been better, honestly. Why was Strange still screaming, when the alien that had captured him lay dead on the bridge of the ship?

Then they turned around the corner, saw the awful truth and just _stared_ for a few seconds, unable to process the gruesome picture. It was the cape the finally gave him a push and Tony shook himself out of his stupor, aimed his repulsors at the point of origin of these horrible spikes piercing Strange and blasted them into nothingness. 

The monstrous torture device released its victim and the cape swooped in and caught the man before he could fall down onto the floor. It gently lowered the bloodied wizard to the ship’s metal deck before looking up at Tony in horror. After he'd gone down to his knees beside Strange and saw the damage, he knew why.

There was no way on earth, let alone on a deserted spaceship on the way to wherever, that Strange could survive injuries like that. Tony didn't even know where to start with his first aid efforts; there was just too much blood coming from too many wounds. Not even nanotech could help now, as a quick check of Strange's vitals and the resources available confirmed. Sick to his stomach and cursing his helplessness he retracted the armor from his right hand before he reached out and touched Strange's - _Stephen, his name is Stephen_ \- face. It was marked too, but Tony just _had_ to touch him, give him a little bit of human contact.

"Stephen," he finally said. He barely knew the guy but the instinct to comfort was stronger than everything else. He didn't know how to continue and fell silent. Why was Stephen even conscious? Or still alive, for that matter?

"Tony." He and the cape both flinched at the harsh, rasping voice. Not a trace of the smooth, deep voice that had captivated Tony just a few hours ago almost as much as Stephen's unusual eyes. Eyes that still held the same look of determination they had in the wizard's magic house when he'd told them about the infinity stones and how important it was to protect the time stone. "I didn't break," Stephen said, as if that wasn't obvious. Tony wondered how much every word must hurt and wanted to tell him to stop speaking, spare himself the pain. He didn't. Whatever Stephen had to say it must be important. So Tony swallowed down his protests and nodded, his eyes drawn to the piece of jewelry still around his neck.

"The stone is still there?"

Stephen managed a nod. "Help me," he begged and weakly tried to get his hands up to the thing. Tony had noticed their shaking before but now it was even more pronounced and made them pretty much completely useless. But Stephen's gestures were clear. Carefully, Tony took his bloody and broken hands between his and helped him. Together, they cradled the eye-shaped thing between their joined hands. "The Eye of Agamotto." Stephen's voice was barely audible as he muttered something that didn't sound English at all and Tony bent down to catch the words. He didn't. He only understood the faint: "It's yours, now. Protect it. We'll help you." He looked at the cape and seemed to commune with it. "Good luck." The weak grip around Tony's hands suddenly relaxed entirely and Tony looked up in alarm.

"Stephen!"

It was no use. Stephen was already drifting away, his final duty done, and there was nothing else for Tony to do except to wait for the inevitable end. Tony did his best to make him as comfortable as possible. He held him, trying to keep him warm, while he whispered soothing nonsense and fought his own tears away. He didn't try to stop the bleeding; didn't even know where to start and it was far too late anyway. Why prolong the suffering needlessly?

Thankfully, it didn't take long before he lost consciousness. Tony continued to hold him, though he could no longer hold back his tears, and a few minutes that felt like more like a small eternity later Stephen died quietly in Tony's arms, still cradled in his cloak.

*

Stephen's death was only the first thing that went wrong. Turning the ship around and getting back to Earth turned out to be far easier than anticipated but that was it. After that, the descent into hell began. No more mercy left for the universe or its occupants. 

In the end Tony stood amidst the ruins of his broken planet. The population had been reduced to about a quarter of before but the Earth had been so devastated by the combined powers of five of the infinity stones that it could barely support the little life left on it.

Thanos was dead, while Tony was miraculously almost uninjured and still in the possession of the Eye of Agamotto. He didn't know why it hadn't vanished with the rest of the stones after he'd decapitated Thanos and tried to force them out of existence. From the silent coms he concluded that everyone he'd ever known or cared about was dead or at least so incapacitated that they couldn't answer his frantic calls.

"Fuck! Why me?" he'd screamed to the heavens when he'd gotten up from the battlefield and realized that he was the only one left standing. Sitting. Whatever. The last one except for the cape, which had attached himself to him after the death of its previous owner and now held him in the tightest embrace of his life. Tony held on to the fabric and tried to comfort it as it tried to comfort him in return. He couldn't even cry anymore, was far too exhausted and had lost too many people. "It's just us now, cape." He patted it before burying his face in it. It was warm and smelt fresh. Tony finally felt the tears come, as the thing continued to wrap him up, patting him on the back, before stroking over his head.

"It's called the Cloak of Levitation. Not 'cape'." The words, spoken in a familiar voice, deep and unbroken, cleared the haze from his mind and forced him back into reality.

"Stephen?" It _was_ Stephen Strange standing before him, no doubt about that. The man was too unique looking to have a double running around, let alone one which was also dressed like a wizard. Too scared and confused to really look he just reached out, desperate for some physical contact with another living human being. He only came to his senses and really looked when he felt his hand pass through the mirage before him.

"Sorry," Stephen said and looked down at his own semi-transparent form. "You can look but you can't touch. I would have come sooner but the Eye had other ideas." He knelt down besides Tony and reached out himself. His hand, still shaking, Tony noted, passed right through Tony's arm and Stephen smiled sadly. "Come on now, we've got to go. You need to rest and recover and then we'll have to start."

"Start _what_?" He was still in shock, Tony concluded, otherwise he would have handled the whole situation far worse and with a lot more panicked screaming. But right now? He didn't have the energy for that. "The séance? Shall I get my Ouija board? Get some clay so we can sculpt an urn for our planet?" The enormity of the situation suddenly caught up with him. "Oh my God, they're all gone. I can't… what am I…" Words failed and once again it was only Stephen's voice and the cape's - Cloak's - embrace that held the oncoming panic attack at bay.

"Tony, _Tony_. I know it's hard but try to relax and _breathe_. It's not the end of the world right now. You have no reason to believe me but, please, trust me: There's still a chance. You're not alone. I promised you that I'll help you and together _we can fix this_."

"Fix what?" Tony asked in a broken whisper.

"The last year."

*

More than half a year later Tony stood in the silent and still powerless penthouse of his tower and stared at the mirage before him. He wasn't exactly desensitized to the pain and misery it showed but he'd seen this echo of the past so often in the last few weeks that he could muster only sadness by now.

The illusion of Doctor Stephen Strange levitated in the middle of his living room. Looking almost more real than the original had; pale and sick looking, silently enduring the needles piercing his body. Only his face betrayed the immense agony he was in, his eyes squeezed shut but still leaking tears nonetheless. Tony wanted to reach out and _help_. Wanted it more than anything else in the universe. Wanted to shatter those needles and gather Stephen close, comfort him, tell him that everything was okay now and that he had him and that he was safe.

He should be over it by now, or so everybody told him, whenever he set a foot outside his private sanctum and dared to show his face in public. They would tell him that it was time to leave the past behind and concentrate on the future, to try and rebuild the planet. Humanity had neither enough manpower nor resources left - it needed the most brilliant mind it still had more than ever before and couldn't understand why the man just didn't step up and take charge.

He couldn't do it. Not while there was still a little bit of hope left that everything could be prevented. But he couldn't tell anybody about his plans, making his only real confidantes his ghostly companion, along with Happy and the Cloak. But everytime he tried to move further towards his goal the recurring reminders of Stephen's death and other events of the recent past stood in his way, making it harder to keep his resolve not to fall into despair.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to the image of Stephen dying before him. "I should have saved you." His desire to actually _save_ and _hold_ the living version of Stephen grew from day to day, was by now the only thing keeping him going. He was too tired and exhausted to concentrate on the bigger picture, the saving of one person was just about everything he could handle right now.

The Cloak of Levitation held him in a tight embrace and also looked sadly at the apparition.

"You should stop looking at that, it's destroying you."

The ghostly, almost translucent, form of Stephen appeared on Tony's left. His arms crossed across his chest, he looked at the picture of himself being tortured without any emotion. It was a mask, Tony knew. He'd seen his own private ghost flinch often enough to know that there was genuine emotion and hurt hidden beneath a very thin layer of detachment.

"I can't help it. It appears whenever I try this spell and I have to look at it." Tony crossed his own arms and forced his attention from the picture of an impaled Stephen to the ghost of the man next to him. "I'm not doing it to torment myself, I'm just reminding myself why I'm doing this. As soon as I get you back I'm going to cling to you and never let you out of my arms again."

Stephen smiled wistfully at that. "I'm looking forward to that." He meant it. He missed being able to touch things and being touched in return, as he'd confessed to Tony not too long ago. "But you've seen that," he gestured to the vision, "more than often enough. Why are you still so captivated by it?"

"I'm showing you my respect. I wasn't there when it happened, not until the very end, the least I can do now is to watch all of it."

Stephen sighed and shifted uncomfortably. His crossed arms moved until he was more or less hugging himself. The longing to be able to hold and comfort him washed over Tony again; he hated the fact that he'd only ever had one chance of holding Stephen and that had been minutes before his death, when they'd barely known each other.

In the months since then, thanks to the ghost-version of him, Tony had gotten to know Stephen well and found him to be intelligent, funny, and, while not quite _nice_ , genuinely good. Plus he was capable of handling not only Tony's intellect and sarcasm but able to throw it back at him with equal fervor.

Friendship with a ghost. Even in a world suddenly empty of humans but filled with gods, aliens and superheroes that was extraordinary. Trust Tony Stark to find a new level of madness even in mad times. And also to run away from his responsibilities with his new acquaintance.

"Let's try it," Stephen said suddenly. "Just like I showed you." He waited patiently while Tony focused on the Eye and his own growing magic and very carefully built the power up. The image of the tortured Stephen vanished after the first try. Stephen smiled proudly and the Cloak fluttered approvingly. "You're doing well."

Tony gave them a disgusted look. He still wasn't comfortable with magic, would probably never be, thanks to his experiences with Loki and Wanda. He knew how much his reticence hurt Stephen but it was just a fact of life. The other fact of life was that the Cloak of Levitation had chosen Tony and that Stephen had magically locked the Eye of Agamotto onto him so that nobody else could use it. Not that they were any sorcerers left to do so, or at least not to their knowledge. Kamar-Taj had fallen in the last days of the war against Thanos when he'd used the reality stone to vanish it out of existence, and from the other sorcerers scattered around the globe there had been no sign.

Which forced Tony, at the young age of forty-nine, to take up the study of magic. It didn't matter that all of his fear and hatred of magic was more than justified, the greater good didn't care. At least he had a very patient teacher and despite everything he also seemed to have some natural talent for magic. Probably because the universe had it in for him and decided to throw another curveball his way. He tried to see it as his due punishment for not being able to save Stephen and the rest of the world.

For now. They were working on that, too. 

_From science to magic, the amazing journey of Tony Stark_ , Happy, one of the few people who still lived and also knew a little bit about this whole magic business, had joked. Tony smiled at the memory before clapping his hands and turning to Stephen. "So, what's next?"

"For you? Sleep. You've been up for close to thirty hours, that's more than enough. For me? More meditation, I guess." Stephen sounded resigned.

"Will you come with me? I mean, I know it's not going to be thrilling, watching me sleep and toss and turn and maybe scream, but at least you wouldn't be alone?"

Stephen took the offer gladly.

*

Existence as a ghost was boring as… well, hell wasn't quite the right word but so far Stephen hadn't found one that adequately described the sheer mind-numbing _nothing_ he'd had to endure for the last eight months.

No sleep, no rest, no escape to somewhere else, in addition to the knowledge that he would be trapped in the vicinity of Tony Stark for the rest of the man's life if their plan failed. Stephen hoped that it would be a very long and relatively happy life, even if they did fail, despite his own longing for release. Tony deserved it and so much more.

_You've brought this on yourself_ , he reminded himself as he floated near Tony's bed and watched him sleep. He had _felt_ Thanos coming nearer and himself dying and in a last, desperate gamble he had taken down the magical barriers connecting the stone to himself and his lifeforce and transferred it over to Tony, the only one available at the moment. He hadn't planned to bind his own soul to Tony, but in his fear and pain he'd done exactly that.

He'd dumped everything on a man already almost paralyzed by past trauma without any warning or permission. Considering that it was amazing how far Tony had come in just a few short months. What was even more amazing was the fact that he could not only tolerate Stephen's presence but seemed to genuinely like him. Stephen didn't deserve this friendship but he cherished it deeply.

Thanks to his exhaustion Tony had fallen asleep in a few minutes but Stephen had put off his meditation to watch him sleep. It was relaxing in its own way and the view was nice. He wanted to reach out for an impossible touch but fought against the impulse with the ease of long practice. It was surprising just how much he missed touching. Before, he hadn't been a touchy person at all, not only because of his hands but also because of his personality. But now? All he wanted was to feel the embrace of the Cloak again, hold on onto Tony, touch the wall, the earth, _everything_. Most of all he wanted to touch Tony, to give back all the comfort the man had given him.

This plan _had_ to work, damn it. They had a standing date to just cling to another and cry into each other's shoulders when all of this was over. By now it was his main motivation to getting everything back in order.

If he'd still had the power to do so he'd have looked into different versions of the future just to see if even in the event that they failed there would be a chance for Tony to live a happy and fulfilled life. Not that he really thought he did, considering everything, but there was still a tiny bit of hope…

No, they would succeed. They'd just had to overcome the little problem of Stephen's death first. But for that, Tony had to master the time stone. And as soon as they were back at the beginning the real work could start: Stopping Thanos before he got the stones. Killing the titan before he could do even more damage to the universe. Holding on to Tony as if he was the last living being in the universe.

As far as plans went it wasn't the most brilliant but it would have to do.

Tony's sleep became restless and Stephen tried to soothe him with whispered words and assurances. It was all he could offer right now. The Cloak did what he couldn't and stroked over his face and back until he settled back down. They shared a look of silent understanding before Stephen settled down for his nightly mediation.

Tomorrow they would try again to open up a portal into the past. Hopefully it would let more through then echoes off past tragedies.

*

It took them another year of constant training before Tony's control over the time stone was sufficient to not only open up a portal but hold it open long enough for him and his ghostly companion to pass through. It was enough time to let their new friendship grow into something deep and solid, to enable them to talk about everything. Family, friends, the past, hopes for the future and everything in between.

Stephen began to care for Tony more than he probably should and Tony hated himself for the fact that by now he dreamt more often of Stephen than of Pepper. Still, he wouldn't change it for the world. The longing to hold on to each other only grew and while they did no longer speak about it they both knew in which direction their relationship was slowly but surely heading.

"I'm going to kiss you like you've never been kissed before," Tony promised Stephen only a few days before he opened the portal.

Stephen just laughed but Tony had seen the faint blush on his cheeks and had been charmed all over again. He'd managed to get a ghost to blush, that had to be some kind of miracle, right? And just how pretty would the real-life version of Stephen look with a little bit of color on his face? Tony intended to find out as soon as possible.

"I can barely wait to feel your skin under my fingertips," Stephen confessed, unable to look him in the eyes while he said it, and that simple sentence was enough so send Tony's imagination into overdrive. He knew who much Stephen missed the physical side of living but to be so desperate for a simple touch? Tony began to make plans. Plans for the time after Thanos had been defeated. From their discussions about any- and everything under the sun, including their lives so far, he was pretty sure Stephen would love his ideas.

"I'll hold you for as long as you want me to," he said simply. The rest had to wait.

They had to defeat a titan first.

*

The turning point had been when Tony had sent Peter back to earth. That's what they'd concluded after long discussions and the limited intel Tony could squeeze out of the time stone had confirmed their suspicions. Peter Parker had to stay on the ship and not die back on earth while battling Thanos. With Spiderman on his side Tony would not only be able to find Stephen before it was too late, they could commandeer the ship and take the fight to Thanos himself and maybe - hopefully - spare Earth the catastrophic battle that had brought it to the brink of destruction.

"Will we even remember?" Tony asked when Stephen told him that they would arrive back in time at exactly the moment when the donut-ship had left orbit - immediately before Tony had sent Peter back to earth - and no, there wouldn't suddenly be two versions of them. They'd sort of… replace their counterparts. The magic behind it still made Tony's head hurt and Stephen didn't look much happier about it. Two Iron Man armors and twice the magic would have been very helpful, even if one of the armors had been cobbled together from the remains of its predecessors and wasn't the most powerful.

Stephen shrugged. "I don't know. I hope. But you'll bring us back to a moment when Peter is already on the ship and it's almost too late to turn back. The confusion we'll feel will fade but not before we're too far away for him to leave. Everything will unfold differently from that point on."

Tony gave up on resisting temptation at this point and brushed his hand over Stephen's incorporeal face. "I'll save you this time."

"I'm counting on it." Stephen automatically leaned into the non-existent contact. The simple gesture broke Tony's heart all over again. _I'll never let you go again._

The whole universe was counting on them but right now Tony could only think about saving his family from certain death.

*

They went back. Their memories didn't.

It all came back to Tony the moment he heard Stephen say "spare his life and I'll give you the stone". It took him a second to understand the words and by the time the memories of a whole other life had slammed into him it was too late to interfere. From Stephen's expression he knew it was the same for him.

Thanos had the stone and Tony had to watch helplessly as first Stephen and then Peter vanished before his eyes. He was allowed to hold Peter as he went but Stephen died hurt and alone, all over again.

This time there was no rage left, no tears. Just an emptiness and the knowledge that now everything was truly lost. He had no Cloak, no Eye of Agamotto, no ghost-Stephen… it was over. He'd failed. _Again._

He looked over at the only other survivor - Nebula, wasn't it? - who stared silently back. There had been talk about her sister being killed by Thanos, hadn't there?

_This is not the end._

It wasn't Stephen's voice that shook him out of it this time. It was his own stubbornness and unwillingness to concede defeat. _I'll get them back_ , he promised himself. He was hurt, the nanites of his suit were almost used up but there was still the ship Quill had arrived in and this Nebula woman. He could - would - work with that.

"Tell me everything you know about Thanos and the infinity stones," he demanded after he'd forced himself to stand. It hurt but pain was good. Pain told him that he was still alive. While he was alive he could exact vengeance and that blue girl looked like she had murder on her mind, too. Perfect. Nebula had come nearer, still just looking at him. Calculating. "And show me how this ship works. We're going to get them back. All of them. Including your sister. Tell me about her, too."

He needed of more a plan than "kill Thanos". "Getting half the universe back from the dead" seemed about right. They would succeed, they had to. The alternative was unthinkable. 

*

When Thanos was finally down - for the _second_ time and if that wasn't something to brag about what was? - all the lost slowly came back to life.

Tony had been reunited with a tearful Peter and had handed him over to his equally overcome aunt, he'd seen T'Challa come back and Rocket play with a tree. There had been a joyful reunion between Thor and Loki and just thinking about it gave him a headache. Nebula and the Starlord guy had their Gamora back and Tony had to watch as Steve sprinted across an entire battlefield to embrace a newly emerged Bucky. All around him were people he knew, liked in most cases, and they all had the happiest day of their lives. But Tony? Just felt hollow. And not just from the hole in his side, where Thanos had stabbed him once again. The nanotech had patched it up and he hadn't lost too much blood. Everyone else was back, but where was the man whose strength and self-sacrifice had it all made possible? The one Tony had been waiting for the last three years, if you counted the two timelines together?

"Mr. Stark?" Peter approached him when most of the other people had already gone their way in the various vehicles supplied by Wakanda. "Are you coming?" He gestured to the helicopter waiting in the distance. It was the last one. May, Steve, Bucky and the rest of the old Avengers team where already on board. _We're all waiting for you_ , the boy didn't say but Tony heard it anyway. He could feel the waves of impatience radiating from the helicopter since nobody knew while the was still standing in the middle of ground zero like some idiot. All this time he'd kept Stephen to himself, a promise for a better time to come. Just like his fledgling magic which didn't really work without the Eye to focus it.

"It's Tony," he said automatically and waved Peter away. "Go along, fly home. I'll find my own way back."

"Mr. … _Tony_...."

Tony finally looked up. He tried but couldn't find the comforting words Peter obviously needed. He opted for the truth instead. "I'm still waiting for someone."

It took Peter only a moment and Tony could see when the penny dropped and he remembered. "The wizard doctor! I'm so sorry, Mr. Tony, I didn't think…" Great, now he'd made the kid sad.

"Forget it, Peter. It's okay. You had other things to worry about." He looked back at May. "Go to her and be there for her. She needs it, I'll be okay." _As soon as you get your ass here, Stephen._

It took him another few minutes but after a ton of assurances and after the rotors of the helicopter started to signal the countdown to take-off he was finally left alone.

The last person standing, or rather sitting, on the greatest battlefield the earth had ever seen and where nobody had died except for an alien. Instead the dead had come back.

"You did good." The words echoed his own, slightly cynical, thoughts and so it took him a moment to realize that they'd been spoken aloud. Before he could comprehend, let alone react, a hand landed on his shoulder. It was shaking and the grip was not the strongest but it served its purpose - Tony stayed down on the earth and looked up at Stephen. But only for a moment. Stephen more or less fell down to his knees in front of Tony, no trace of elegance left in his movements. They just stared at each other for an eternity while Stephen's hand stayed on his shoulder.

"How long have you been waiting?" Stephen finally asked and took his eyes off Tony too look around the field. "And, where are we?"

Tony laughed but choked on it after a moment. "For three years and in Wakanda. And now come here, I have a promise to keep." They both moved at the same moment but still managed to find their way into an embrace. It ended with Tony's face buried in Stephen's shoulders while the tears he'd held back for so long finally came pouring out. Stephen just held him and stroked over his shoulders and back from time to time, while he cried his own tears.

There were some mentions of his name and quite a few apologies but Tony didn't really listen to them, instead he choose to just let Stephen's soothing voice wash over him. It had given him comfort so often before, after all. Which reminded him… "Hey, Stephen." He finally managed to lift his head from its comfortable position and blinked in the twilight that greeted him. How long had they been sitting here, just clinging to another, just as promised? It didn't matter. He had another promise to keep. "Do you remember what I promised you?" he asked while already bringing his hands into position to hold Stephen's head. It was an amazing feeling to have the warm, living, breathing version of the man in his arms. He never wanted to let him go again.

Stephen looked surprised and his body froze for a moment before his brilliant mind caught up with the proceedings. "You don't have…", he started to say but Tony silenced him with a kiss. It took him a moment but the responded with just as much enthusiasm.


	2. Chapter 2

Three months later the world had gone back more or less to normal. Autumn had found its way to New York and Stephen, who still wasn't fully accustomed to having his damaged and hurting body back, was suffering from the cold. His hands hurt, his wrists hurt, his neck hurt, his head hurt…

"Hey, baby." Suddenly there was warmth, enveloping him. The Cloak ambushed him from behind and wrapped him up while Tony hugged him. His hands were suddenly sandwiched between his own Tony's body and the sudden warmth was heaven-sent. He let out an involuntary groan. "That bad?" Stephen used to hate the way Tony looked at him in moments like this. Like he was broken and incapable of taking care of himself. But he'd learned to look beyond the surface and now saw only the love, concern and genuine desire to help when Tony got all overprotective. It felt kind of… nice. Stephen still wasn't used to it, but he was getting there. Maybe after a few more years of this he would learn to just enjoy being taken care of.

"Yes," he answered anyway because he knew that lying or not answering wouldn't do him any good. "It's the cold," he tried to explain but Tony was nodding before he'd finished speaking.

"Yeah, I can feel it too." He pointed to his chest. "The colder the weather the more the implants hurt. I think we should move to a tropical island for the rest of our lives." It was only now that Stephen saw the fine lines of stress and pain on Tony's face and he mentally kicked himself for not noticing them sooner. Of course Tony was hurting too, the man had even more metal in his body than Stephen and had his own scars and lingering hurts that flared up with unwelcome regularity.

"Sounds lovely," he agreed. It wouldn't happen, but it was a nice dream. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to have a meeting with the other Avengers for… something?" He hadn't listened when Tony had told him what he was up to, or if he had he had forgotten about it.

Tony shrugged and stepped back, taking his amazing warmth with him. Stephen wanted to protest but the Cloak moved in and covered his front, too. It wasn't as good as before but it was tolerable. "It's done. Or at least _I'm_ done. Listen, can we talk about something else? Do you have a bathtub in this museum of yours? The bigger the better. I'd like to spent some quality time with my boyfriend and the weather screams _nice pampering session with home spa._ "

"And who's going to pamper who?" Stephen wanted to know but he was already leading the way to the big bathroom on the first floor. Mostly, they spent the little time they had together at the tower and Tony only came to the Sanctum from time to time. Time to change that, Stephen decided. He wanted Tony to feel at home here.

"I'm an equal opportunity guy, as you well know, but today it's your treat. I've got something for you."

"Do you now?" he asked, intrigued, but Tony only shook his head.

"It's a surprise for later. First, we have to get you warmed up. You're frozen!"

"Then come here and warm me up!" Stephen protested automatically. Tony looked at him for a moment before coming closer again and taking his left hand in his right.

"Better? Now lead me to the promised land."

Stephen did. When they came into the bathroom it was the same as always - surprisingly big, warm and full of natural light, even in the middle of the night, modern and fitted with a shower and bathtub both. Stephen had been astonished when he'd seen it for the first time and Tony's reaction was no different.

"I… didn't expect that," he confessed. "More like a medieval wooden tub thing where we have to heat the water over coals or something."

Stephen just smiled, delighted. "We aren't heathens, you know. We even have Wi-Fi."

"Yes, and because I upgraded your router two months ago it now even works on a speed detectable by modern devices," Tony fired back, but there was no heat in the words. He was still busy looking for the light source. Not that he would find it. It had taken Stephen quite a while to untangle and understand the spells at work here and he wasn't quite sure if he had discovered them all. "It's beautiful," Tony concluded after a quick and thorough investigation. "But can you make it, you know…"

Tony was still searching for words but Stephen knew what he wanted. A quick handwave and the light dimmed to natural starlight and hundreds of candles appeared and gave their warm and cozy light. The tub filled up to the brim with steaming water at the same time. "More romantic?" Stephen suggested dryly and gestured to their transformed surroundings. "Yes, I can."

After a long look around the room Tony turned back to him. "I love your magic," he said and the quiet words made Stephen fall in love with him all over again. "It feels so much better than the other kinds I've encountered so far."

 _Because they wanted to hurt, not protect_ , Stephen thought but didn't say. Tony had turned away from using magic himself after defeating Thanos but he wasn't running screaming from Stephen when he used it so he counted it as a success.

"But," Tony continued as he came nearer and just held on to Stephen's hips for a moment, a gesture Stephen absolutely _loved_ , before he began fiddling with the belts. "Some things are better done by hand, don't you agree?" Tony loved to undress Stephen and when he was wearing his sorcerer's robes? It was a special treat for him. Stephen tried to indulge him as often as possible and since his hands right now were pretty much useless due to poor circulation and pain he just spread his arms and let his lover strip him.

It took them a while a careful negotiation but finally they reached an agreement. Stephen ended up in the tub with his back against Tony's chest. He'd wanted to be the one holding Tony because of his torso but Tony had played dirty and brought up Stephen's stiff neck. "Just think how much better it will be when you can lean against _me_ instead of the cold and hard edge. I can take your weight, easily." Stephen knew that he could but he was still careful with his posture until Tony pressed a hand to his chest and gently pulled him back. His hold was strong and pretty much unbreakable without causing a scene. "Come here where you belong and stop playing the martyr." He brought his hand up to stroke over Stephen's neck, the most sensible part of his body. Stephen shuddered and cursed Tony but finally relaxed and let the scented water and Tony's gentle hands warm him up. Sometimes it bothered him how fast and easily he surrendered to Tony's wishes but most of the time he was too busy being content and being cared for to really think about it.

*

Later, dressed in a loose meditation outfit, sitting on his bed, with candlelight all around the room, when he felt warm, relaxed, and better than he had in ages, he looked up at Tony and asked the question that had been nagging at him all the time. "You said you have something for me?"

Tony smiled at him but there was more than a hint of nervousness in it. "Yes. I know that you still have trouble..." He abandoned his approach and took a deep breath, his nervousness palpable. "I noticed that you like it when I grab onto you and hold you down. Restrain you a little bit," he finally said in a rush, unable to look Stephen in the eyes. "And I thought…"

It was endearing. Tony Stark, nervous as hell because of something harmless like that? But Stephen wasn't a monster and decided to help him out. "So you want to tie me down." He wasn't impressed with the idea, just the opposite.

Tony looked up at him, shocked. "Not really! I mean, yes, a little bit. Restrain you. But not with cuffs and chains or whatever's dancing around that pretty , dirty head of yours right now!" He finally went over to the bag he'd brought with him from home and got something black out of it. He slowly came nearer and held out his hand, the invitation clear. "I'm not going to tie you down, Stephen. We both don't want that, not really."

No, they didn't. But then what? Stephen had no clue where this was going. It was exhilarating and he held out his right hand almost automatically. _Following your lead once again, my dear_ , he thought. He should probably think about this more. Another time. For now he was too curious where this would be leading.

His obedience was rewarded with a beautiful smile that made him feel better immediately. Of course, Tony wouldn't immobilize him, trap him even more than he already was inside his broken body. The "something black" turned out to be one of two long, black silk bands. It was rather broad and as Tony began to wind it around his wrist he could feel himself relax almost immediately. Huh, that was new and something worth exploring. "Tony?" he asked and was surprised at how breathy his voice sounded.

"I've noticed how much your wrists are bothering you in the last few days. Ever since it got cold." Tony's explanation was calm but not clinical as he carefully crossed the black silk over and over itself until his wrist and half his forearm were covered in a rather intricate pattern. He made sure to caress every inch of skin before it was covered. One layer of silk went over his palm, crossed over the back of his hand. It would allow him to grab onto anything as well as ever these days. Somehow Tony made the end vanish as if by magic; Stephen couldn't even see where he'd tucked it in. But his hand and wrist felt as secure as they had in years, better even than when they were in the usual bindings he wore with his robes. He held out his left hand without having to be prompted and Tony repeated his movements with even more care, knowing that this was the bad one. "I'm working on something to really help with the shaking but that's still a work in progress. This is more of a psychological thing to get you used to have something around your wrists, even when you're out of your robes."

Stephen swallowed, blown away by the implications and his own body's response to a little bit of silk. "So you want to keep me bound permanently?" he finally asked teasingly but also more aroused than he wanted to admit even to himself.

Tony held both of his hands between his own and looked up, insecurity written all over his face. But he continued, regardless, in true Tony Stark fashion. "You're beautiful like this. If I could I would keep you by my side forever. To keep you safe and happy." The words were simple but they had a world - two worlds - of meaning behind him. "But I can't and won't do that to you so I have to resort to what I can." He squeezed Stephen's hands gently, stilling their trembling to almost nothing. "And with this I can help. I've got Bruce and Shuri on it too. I can't promise too much, since we're still in the early stages, but I think we can really help with the nerve damage in time." He bent down to press a kiss on the fingers of Stephen's left hand. "But in the meantime, I have to be content with making you even prettier than you already are."

Stephen couldn't help himself, he _blushed_ as Tony leaned up to kiss him before looking at him expectantly. He wasn't used to being called pretty, despite Tony doing it regularly in the last few months. He looked down at his hands again. They looked much better like this - scars and red, swollen skin hidden behind the fabric, while and it might have only been an optical illusion, he could barely see their shaking. The binding also took the focus off his fingers, another bonus. "I like it," he finally said and Tony beamed at him. "You can keep me in them if you want." The admission came without having to think about it and it surprised him at least as much as it did Tony. They both got the deeper meaning behind the words immediately. But he refused to take it back, despite his blush being deep enough to heat up the entire room. Instead he lifted his hands and cradled Tony's face. "Thank you. If I might show you my appreciation?" He winked to loosen up the suddenly tense atmosphere between them.

Tony laughed, surprised, and nodded eagerly. "Be my guest. I only did it for the reward anyway."

In revenge, Stephen gave Tony the biggest, absolutely non-concealable hickey of his life before he turned his attentions to other parts of the gorgeous man spread out before him.

**Author's Note:**

> Now there's a short and sweet sequel in the sunshine: [A Passage in Time.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16670065) Enjoy! Comments and Kudos make my day. :)


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